Chapter 1315: Words That Kill the Heart

Ma Tian saw it and quickly bowed, "So this is the Crown Prince's Golden Crow Token. Sir Black Tooth, please come in!"

It turned out the token was given to him by the Crown Prince's grand protector after he defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince in the Serpent Clan, as an invitation to the royal court.

The other party likely had ulterior motives, probably intending for the Golden Crow Crown Prince to exact his revenge once Zu An arrived at the royal court.

Unfortunately for them, Zu An used it to enter the imperial palace.

Zu An had previously noticed that the Golden Crow Token in Yu Yanluo's possession differed from his own. He later learned that their tokens were issued by the Demon Emperor to summon clan leaders to the royal court and served no other function.

Conversely, the token in Zu An's hand, belonging to the Golden Crow Crown Prince, carried greater authority.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief, feeling quite fortunate. He returned Ma Tian's bow and politely declined his offer to escort him to the Crown Prince.

As Ma Tian's duty was to guard the palace, he did not press the matter and instead assigned a guard to lead Zu An.

Along the way, Zu An subtly observed his surroundings, noting that the Demon Clan's imperial palace indeed had a very different style from that of the human realm. He saw numerous artificial fountains and various sculptures.

Most of them depicted different demon races, seemingly designed to win the loyalty of various clans.

Zu An wasn't in the mood for sightseeing. He quickly activated his Jade Cong to imprint the surrounding map into his mind. He had never been here before, and if he needed to escape later, he would certainly need to familiarize himself with the terrain.

Along the way, he found an opportunity to ask, "By the way, I heard Princess Xue entered the palace today?"

"Yes, Princess Xue is truly beautiful and approachable. She even smiled at us when she entered the palace gates this morning," the guard said, smiling foolishly, as if still basking in the morning's pleasant memory.

Zu An was somewhat speechless. Approachable?

He truly couldn't reconcile that image with the sharp-tongued girl he knew.

However, since arriving in the Demon Clan territory, the information he gathered from locals indicated that Xue'er was indeed very popular here.

My Xue'er, please don't let some old demon possess you.

"But I heard she hasn't left the palace yet?" Zu An asked, feigning casualness.

"Yes, it seems the Crown Princess will be chosen today." The guard's face was filled with envy, as if he wished he were the Crown Prince himself.

Zu An was burning with anxiety but couldn't show the slightest sign of it. "Oh? I suppose so. After spending the night in the imperial palace, regardless of what happens, the outside world will consider her a royal woman."

"Exactly," the guard said. "Earlier, Princess Xue met with the Demon Emperor, and several imperial concubines kept her talking for most of the day. Then the Crown Prince managed to keep her here... Hehe, it's probably almost a done deal now."

***

Meanwhile, in a secluded chamber within the imperial palace, the sound of a shattering vase echoed. A slender, graceful figure stumbled, attempting to evade something; the vase had been knocked over as she dodged.

She frantically tried to open the door, but a shimmering light on its surface repelled her.

The girl wore an emerald green dress that, at first glance, evoked a sense of nature and vital energy.

Her hair was styled into many exquisite small braids, adorned with various beautiful ornaments and hairpins. The candlelight in the room reflected off them, truly sparkling brilliantly.

Not far away, a man in luxurious robes slowly approached. Seeing the girl's exquisite and unparalleled beauty, truly like a fairy, his breathing quickened. "Princess Xue, this residence has been specially treated. Unless I agree, you cannot leave."

The man in luxurious robes was, of course, the Golden Crow Crown Prince.

And the fairy-like girl was Qiao Xueying, the princess of the Elf Clan.

At this moment, her normally snow-white skin was flushed with an unnatural blush. She spoke resentfully, "You told me there was progress regarding my father's situation and summoned me to discuss it. Was the result just drugging me?"

The Golden Crow Crown Prince was in no hurry to approach. After all, she was like a cooked duck that couldn't fly away, and he relished the process of gradually breaking her spirit and will.

"There certainly is progress. As long as you obediently marry me and become the Crown Princess, your father will be the Emperor's father-in-law. How could he possibly remain confined in prison then?" The Golden Crow Crown Prince looked at her frightened and timid eyes, feeling a powerful sense of conquest welling up within him.

"Hmph, that wretch Kong Nanwu actually escaped. Fortunately, Princess Xue is equally beautiful and alluring. First, I'll conquer Princess Xue, and then, in the future, I'll bring Kong Nanwu into my chambers. Hmph, no matter where she runs, she'll always be my woman!"

Qiao Xueying was both furious and anxious: "You, the dignified Crown Prince of the Demon Clan, would stoop to such despicable acts!"

"Love between a man and a woman is human nature; how can it be called despicable?" the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, unoffended. "Moreover, both our parents have already agreed to our marriage. Throughout the entire Demon Clan, everyone already considers you the Crown Princess. Isn't it only natural for us, as husband and wife, to add some passion to our relationship?"

Qiao Xueying retorted angrily, "I haven't agreed! If they've agreed, let them marry you instead!"

The Golden Crow Crown Prince snorted, "Countless women in this world dream of marrying me. Why are you so ungrateful?"

"Wouldn't it be better if you simply married those women who *do* want to marry you?" Qiao Xueying, too, grew anxious.

"I don't fancy them; I only like you," the Golden Crow Crown Prince said, carefully admiring the girl before him. The more he looked, the more beautiful and captivating she seemed, even comparable to the women he had seen with the Medusa Queen in the Serpent Clan last time...

His face stiffened at the thought. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Why am I thinking about that again? What bad luck!"

Qiao Xueying felt somewhat helpless: "What exactly do you like about me? Can't I just change?"

The Golden Crow Crown Prince's face darkened. "My patience has limits." Qiao Xueying bit her thin lip, forced to change the subject to buy time, though she wasn't sure if it would make any difference. "How exactly did you drug me? I was so careful just now."

She wasn't foolish; she couldn't possibly be entirely unguarded when the Golden Crow Crown Prince sought her out. Since arriving, she hadn't eaten or even had a sip of water, yet she had still fallen victim.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince naturally perceived her attempts to stall for time, but he was unconcerned. He had ample time—an entire night to slowly savor the situation.

Furthermore, the longer she stalled, the more completely the drug would take effect, and by then, she would be burning from within.

At this thought, a strange and feverish smile spread across the Golden Crow Crown Prince's face. "True, your caution is commendable, but while you can choose not to eat or drink, you can't choose not to breathe, can you?"

Qiao Xueying was startled, her gaze falling on the quietly burning candlelight nearby. "You put the poison in the candle?"

"Princess Xue is indeed clever, truly worthy of being the woman I've chosen." Looking at the blush on her skin, her originally graceful demeanor now possessed an added charm and allure.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince's breathing quickened; he felt he could no longer wait.

As he drew closer with each step, Qiao Xueying truly panicked. Her cultivation was already inferior to the Golden Crow Crown Prince's, and now she was poisoned. Moreover, this was his territory; she was utterly trapped, with no way to ascend to heaven or descend to earth.

She suddenly recalled a legend about the Golden Crow Crown Prince and quickly said, "Haven't you been asking me why I don't want to marry you?"

"Why?" As expected, the Golden Crow Crown Prince's attention was piqued.

"Because I already have someone I love." Zu An's image appeared in Qiao Xueying's mind, and a pang of bitterness struck her. It seemed that in this life, they were fated to have no shared destiny.

The Golden Crow Crown Prince frowned, but seeing Qiao Xueying's alluring, rosy-white appearance under the candlelight, he suppressed his displeasure. "It doesn't matter. A beautiful woman like you is bound to have many admirers, but from now on, you will belong only to me, the Crown Prince."

If it had been any other woman, he would have deemed her impure of thought, but Princess Xue's beauty and status were enough for him to make a slight exception.

A strange expression appeared on Qiao Xueying's face. "Did you not understand what I meant? I said I already have a man; we are deeply in love and have long been in perfect harmony..."

To thoroughly deter him, she added a sharp, provocative remark: "My body has already completely taken his shape. Don't you mind that?"

"What!" The Golden Crow Crown Prince was as if struck by a bolt from the blue, instantly frozen in place.